[Research on ontology construction of acupuncture effect based on ISO/TS 16843-6: 2022].

In order to specify the information expression of acupuncture effect and realize the knowledge reuse and sharing, in view of animal experiments and clinical trials, the relevant knowledge of acupuncture effect is allocated. Using seven-step method and Protégé5.5.0 tool, the ontology of acupuncture effect is constructed on the base of ISO/TS 16843-6: 2022. A total of 199 classes are constructed, including 7 categories (acupuncture point, acupuncture therapy, needling method, biological process, genes and gene products, disorder, and anatomic structure), 12 object properties, 1 108 instances and 5 123 axioms. A semantic network with the characteristics of acupuncture and moxibustion is established and the structured expression for the knowledge of acupuncture effects is obtained, which lays the foundation for the innovation and development in the field of acupuncture and moxibustion.

Defining Acupuncture-Moxibustion: A Delphi Study Protocol.

BACKGROUND: With the worldwide use and modern development of acupuncture-moxibustion, there is disagreement on its basic definition. There has been an obstacle for clinical practice, research, and legislation. Considering this challenge, the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies proposes to develop the definition and basic scope of acupuncture-moxibustion with a Delphi study. METHODS: A reactive Delphi method will be used to ask a group of experts to rate the relevance and clarity of a predesigned initial item list. This list was generated by the steering committee through a literature review and group discussion. Forty experts will be selected from many disciplines and continents to ensure appropriate representation. Predefined rules will be applied to modify the items until a consensus is achieved. After achieving the consensus on all items through the survey round, the steering committee will form the definition and basic scope of acupuncture-moxibustion by organizing a literal statement with a detailed explanation.

Antioxidant activity and characterization of antioxidant polysaccharides from pine needle (Cedrus deodara).

A novel antioxidant polysaccharide (APC) was isolated and characterized from pine needles of Cedrus deodara with the evaluation of its in vitro antioxidant activity. According to gel filtration chromatography, high performance size exclusion chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, partial acid hydrolysis, periodic acid oxidation, Smith degradation and methylation analysis, APC was observed to be an acidic heteropolysaccharide (composed of glucose, arabinose, mannose and xylose in a molar ratio of 45.84:1:2.35:1.73) with the molecular weight of 1.53×10(4)Da, and the backbone was mainly composed by glucose, mannose and xylose in the form of (1→4) linked. Meanwhile, APC exhibited the remarkable antioxidant activity to scavenge free radicals and inhibit the oxidative injury of DNA and cells. The present results suggested that APC could be a potential antioxidant agent for preparing functional foods and nutraceuticals applied in food and pharmaceutical industries.

Anti-hyperglycemic effect of chebulagic acid from the fruits of Terminalia chebula Retz.

In the present study, we firstly compared rat intestinal α-glucosidase inhibitory activity by different ethanol-aqueous extractions from the dried fruits of Terminalia chebula Retz. The enzymatic assay showed that the 80% ethanol extract was more potent against maltase activity than both 50% and 100% ethanol extracts. By HPLC analysis, it was determined that the 80% ethanol extract had a higher content of chebulagic acid than each of 50% or 100% ethanol extract. Next, we investigated how efficiently chebulagic acid could inhibit sugar digestion by determining the glucose level on the apical side of the Caco-2 cell monolayer. The result showed that the maltose-hydrolysis activity was down-regulated by chebulagic acid, which proved to be a reversible inhibitor of maltase in Caco-2 cells. On the other hand, chebulagic acid showed a weak inhibition of sucrose-hydrolysis activity. Meanwhile, chebulagic acid did not have an obvious influence on intestinal glucose uptake and was not effective on glucose transporters. Further animal studies revealed that the oral administration of chebulagic acid (100 mg/kg body weight) significantly reduced postprandial blood glucose levels by 11.1% in maltose-loaded Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats compared with the control group, whereas the oral administration of chebulagic acid did not show a suppressive effect on postprandial hyperglycemia in sucrose- or glucose-loaded SD-rats. The results presented here suggest that chebulagic acid from T. chebula can be used to control blood glucose and manage type 2 diabetes, although clinical trials are needed.

Chemical composition, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities of essential oil from pine needle (Cedrus deodara).

UNLABELLED: The chemical composition of essential oil from pine needles (Cedrus deodara) was determined, and its antioxidant and antimicrobial activities were evaluated. Twenty-three components, representing 95.79% of the oil, were identified by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The main components include α-terpineol (30.2%), linalool (24.47%), limonene (17.01%), anethole (14.57%), caryophyllene (3.14%), and eugenol (2.14%). Pine needle essential oil showed remarkable antioxidant activity in scavenging free radicals, in lipid peroxidation, and in reducing power assays. Moreover, the essential oil revealed strong antimicrobial activity against typical food-borne microorganisms, with minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration values of 0.2 to 1.56 and 0.39 to 6.25 µg/mL, respectively. Transmission electron microscope observation ascertained that the bactericidal mechanism of pine needle essential oil may be the induction of cytoplasmic outflow and plasmolysis. These results suggest that the essential oil from pine needles has potential to be used as a natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agent in food processing. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The present study provides a theoretical basis for the potential application of essential oil from pine needles (C. deodara) to be used as a natural resource of antioxidant and antimicrobial agents in food industry.

Characterization of antioxidant polysaccharides from Auricularia auricular using microwave-assisted extraction.

Influence of microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) to the characterization and corresponding antioxidant activity of polysaccharides from Auricularia auricula (AAP) was determined. According to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, high performance size exclusion chromatography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, partial acid hydrolysis, periodic acid oxidation, Smith degradation, methylation analysis and atomic force microscopy, AAP was a heteropolysaccharide (composed of glucose, galactose, mannose, arabinose and rhamnose at the molar ratio of 37.53:1:4.32:0.93:0.91) with the molecular weight of 2.77×10(4) Da, observed as a spherical lump, and the backbone of AAP was mainly composed by glucose with (1→3) linked. Moreover, AAP exhibited significant in vitro antioxidant activity in scavenging free radicals (ABTS, DPPH, superoxide and hydroxyl radicals), in lipid peroxidation and reducing power assays. The present result suggested that AAP by MAE had low molecular weight and remarkable antioxidant capability.

Antibrowning and antimicrobial activities of the water-soluble extract from pine needles of Cedrus deodara.

UNLABELLED: The antibrowning and antimicrobial activities of the water-soluble extract from pine needles of Cedrus deodara (CDE), a traditional Chinese medicine and raw materials of pine needle tea, was investigated. Total phenols of CDE were 31.4 ± 0.53 mg gallic acid equivalent/g, and total flavonoids were 23.1 ± 0.79 mg rutin equivalent/g. CDE showed a strong antioxidant activity against ABTS free radicals with IC(50) (the half-inhibitory concentration) of 25.5 ± 0.64 µg/mL. In mushroom tyrosinase inhibitory assay, IC(50) values were 2.1 ± 0.98 and 2.27 ± 0.93 mg/mL for monophenolase and diphenolase, respectively. Evaluated by detecting changes of L* (indicated the darkness of sample), a* (indicated the redness of sample), and b* (indicated the yellowness of sample) values in fresh-cut apple slices model, CDE showed a significant antibrowning effect when compared with ascorbic acid. In addition, it was discovered that CDE in combination with 0.5% ascorbic acid exhibited a synergistic antibrowning effect. Meanwhile, CDE was observed to show a potent antimicrobial effect on all of the tested Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. In conclusion, the results of the present research suggested that pine needles of C. deodara could be used as a natural resource of antibrowning and antimicrobial agents in food preservation. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The present study provides a theoretical basis for the potential application of pine needles of C. deodara to be used as a natural resource of antibrowning and antimicrobial agents in food industry.

Chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of essential oil from Gnaphlium affine.

The chemical composition of the essential oil from Gnaphlium affine was determined, and its antimicrobial and antioxidant activities were evaluated. Twenty-four compounds, representing 94.95% of the amount of total oil, were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Main constituents of the essential oil were found to be eugenol (18.24%), linalool (10.62%), trans-caryophyllene (8.86%), α-terpineol (5.97%), p-cymene (5.75%), hexadecanoic acid (5.63%), γ-cadinene (4.98%), δ-cadinene (4.22%), α-humulene (3.22%), and (-)-ß-elemene (3.15%). The essential oil revealed a remarkable antimicrobial effect against the tested food-borne microorganisms with the MIC and MBC values in the ranges of 0.2-1.56 µg/ml and 0.39-3.13 µg/ml, respectively. The essential oil showed a potent antioxidant activity in ABTS radical scavenging, lipid peroxidation and reducing power assay. It was suggested that the essential oil from G. affine may be a new potential source as natural antimicrobial and antioxidant agents applied in food systems.